Blogs from Croatia, Europe - page 216

Or, at the very least, get mown down by a moped ridden by a family of four, all on mobile phones. Tuscany was everything you might expect, winding roads, vines and olives, beautiful farmhouses owned by German industrialists, French politicians and posh English novelists. We saw three quaint fortified towns perched on a rocky outcrop in one day (Pienza, Montepulciano and another which escapes me - they all blur together). San Gimignano is beautiful but they hate campervans and wanted us to park two miles away in a coach yard, which soured us somewhat. The drive down to the Bay of Naples was long but never dull - there's always something happening on an Italian motorway. I saw a conman doing the one with a pea and three little bells at a service station, ripping off ... read more

Yesterday, I came to Zadar. Finally, I should say after spending seven hours in a bus in the morning. I drove down the Croatian coast, gazing at the beautiful Adriatic Sea, as it woke in the morning. When I finally arrived and after finding the hostel, it was already past midday and the big question was, whether I should just stay on the beach and relax my now rather tired bag or if I should enter beyond the city walls of Zadar to sightsee for the afternoon. I chose the last. With my camera in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, I walked, what seemed to me, all the streets of this magnificent city. In the afternoon not many tourists had left the beach area of Borik, so I found the centre ... read more

Hvar Town on Hvar Island has blown away any and all of the expectations that I've had for this place and Croatia in general. The nightlife seems so fresh and current. Croatia really is a country on the verge of taking off as the holiday spot. That is if its not there already. I was told by a travel writer I met that Croatia was discovered five years ago by Europeans and was just now being discovered by us yanks. The first night I was here I was walking around the promenade with my friend. It was absolutely shimmering and buzzing with color and light. I turned the corner and came across a Miss Croatia pageant complete with catwalk, crowds, and giant plasma screen TVs. It was a real, "Hey Man, now you're really living" ... read more

I wake up fairly late after ignoring the conversation earlier. The Aussi girls take off without saying bye and I’m the last one to gather up my things and check out. I head to the fruit market for another terrific chicken sandwich and watermelon. Then I buy a ticket to Vis (recommended by the cleaning lady at the hostel). Then I get a haircut by a really friendly local guy who keeps comparing me to his son and is really friendly. He gave me a really big genuine smile when I gave him a 10 Kuna tip. Then I hit the internet café to load up my Ipod and grab my things out of the hostel. I make the short walk to the ferry where I meet a couple of Canadian study abroad students on a ... read more

I woke up early with a bit of a hangover. I caught breakfast at a little café near the hostel and met Chris and our Croatian friends at the plaza with the famous statue. We went to an outdoor café and I threw a beer down while watching the gorgeous people of Zagreb walk past. We switched cafes and later went for a walk to a spot where the Prime Minster was chatting with a group of upset workers. On the way we walked past a famous painting that had survived a huge fire that had decimated the city years earlier. We met up with Mark Jurkovic at the plaza and all went for one last drink for the afternoon. Marko took me and Chris for a quick city tour before dropping us back off at ... read more